Savoirs

Following an inclusive consultation and negotiation process, which involved more than 70 countries, international organizations, and representatives of the civil society and the private sector, the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGs) were officially endorsed by the Committee on World Food Security on 11 May 2012. The VGs set out principles, technical recommendations and practices for improving the governance of tenure of land, fisheries and forests. They promote secure tenure rights and equitable access to these resources as a means of eradicating hunger and poverty, supporting sustainable development and protecting the environment. They give recommendations to countries and to other key actors, who are strongly encouraged to adopt and use them on a voluntary basis.

Annexes (Volume 2) of the Partnership in Progress: 2012-2013.

Depuis 1981, le FIDA a financé 12 projets et programmes au Burkina Faso pour un montant total de 158,6 millions de dollars des États-Unis. 

Le Bureau de l’audit et de la surveillance (AUO) et sa Section des enquêtes ont pour mandat de mener des enquêtes sur les allégations de pratiques irrégulières en relation avec les activités et opérations du FIDA. Ce mandat trouve son origine dans la charte d'AUO, le règlement des ressources humaines et le Code de conduite ainsi que la Politique du FIDA en matière de prévention de la fraude et de la corruption dans le cadre de ses activités et opérations. Grâce aux activités d'enquête et de lutte contre la corruption, le FIDA veille à ce que les fonds destinés au développement parviennent bien aux destinataires de la manière la plus efficiente, efficace et transparente possible et que le personnel du Fonds respecte les normes d’éthique et d’intégrité fixées par le FIDA. Le nombre de nouvelles plaintes reçues par AUO en 2013 est légèrement plus élevé par rapport à 2012 (39 en 2013 contre 33 en 2012), du fait de l’accroissement du nombre d’allégations externes de fraude, en particulier dans le domaine des passations de marchés, ainsi que du nombre d’affaires liées au personnel. En 2013, AUO a clôturé avec succès 41 cas, dont plusieurs enquêtes complexes, et des mesures ou sanctions disciplinaires ont été appliquées dans six cas: 5 internes et un externe.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) are funding a number of projects developed to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) related to improving food security, income generation and women’s empowerment, while respecting traditional knowledge and socio-cultural values. 

Family poultry production plays an essential role in some of these projects.

Le présent rapport constitue, de la part du FIDA, la plus complète des tentatives visant à dresser un bilan des différentes expériences de collaboration avec les OP et à recenser les tendances régionales qui émergent.

Cette démarche offre un point de départ pour la reproduction à plus grande échelle des approches réussies et leur élargissement à d'autres pays et d'autres contextes. Le rapport analyse les modalités du partenariat en cours pendant la période 2012-2013, et met en lumière les expériences réussies et les réalisations observées dans les programmes - pays du FIDA et dans son portefeuille de dons.

Le rapport s’appuie sur les résultats d'une enquête réalisée auprès des chargés de programme pays du FIDA, d'entretiens avec des membres concernés du personnel du FIDA et d'une étude sur dossier approfondie de documents concernant des projets en cours et de nouveaux projets, ainsi que certains dons régionaux et programmes - pays.

Le présent rapport constitue, de la part du FIDA, la plus complète des tentatives visant à dresser un bilan des différentes expériences de collaboration avec les OP et à recenser les tendances régionales qui émergent.

Cette démarche offre un point de départ pour la reproduction à plus grande échelle des approches réussies et leur élargissement à d'autres pays et d'autres contextes. Le rapport analyse les modalités du partenariat en cours pendant la période 2012-2013, et met en lumière les expériences réussies et les réalisations observées dans les programmes - pays du FIDA et dans son portefeuille de dons.

e rapport s’appuie sur les résultats d'une enquête réalisée auprès des c argés de programme pays du FIDA, d'entretiens avec des membres concernés du personnel du FIDA et d'une étude sur dossier approfondie de documents concernant des projets en cours et de nouveaux projets, ainsi que certains dons régionaux et programmes - pays.

These case studies present IFAD’s experiences in building PPPs in country projects and programmes around the world, from which we draw conclusions, lessons learned and the way forward.

The overall objective of the Lower Usuthu Smallholder Irrigation Project (LUSIP) is the 1.reduction of poverty and sustained improvement in the standard of living of the population in the Lower Usuthu Basin through commercialization and intensification of agriculture. The immediate objectives of LUSIP Phase I were: (a) the integration of smallholder farmers into the commercial economy through the provision of irrigation infrastructure, development of the policy and legal framework for smallholder irrigation, as well as the establishment of farmer-managed irrigation institutions; and (b) sustainable improvement in environmental health in the project area to ensure that the population derives the full benefits of agricultural commercialisation.

In order to improve your knowledge in this key area, make sure you consult our new e-learning course.

Flash News for the IMI-funded project “Filling the intergenerational gap in knowledge on Agricultural Water Management: twinning Junior and Senior Experts”.

Gender and rural development brief with specific focus on the Near East and North Africa.

En la actualidad Latinoamérica presenta diferentes retos para promover el desarrollo rural de sus comunidades, combatir la escasez de agua y garantizar su seguridad alimentaria. En los últimos años, México ha sufrido una serie de eventos hidrometeorológicos que han generado graves daños sociales y económicos que requieren de importantes inversiones para permitir a las regiones afectadas regresar a su condición habitual. Esto ha hecho evidente la gran vulnerabilidad del país así como la importancia que juega la capacidad de adaptación de la nación o en otras palabras, la resiliencia del país.

Summary report on the workshop "Mainstreaming policy dialogue: from vision to action" organized by LAC and PTA on 17 October 2013.

IFAD has committed US$71.4 million in loans to Jordan since 1981 to support agricultural development and reduce rural poverty. The funds have been used in six agricultural development programmes and projects with a total value of US$189.3 million. 

The Government of Jordan and project participants have contributed US$63.2 million. The programmes and
projects are designed by IFAD in collaboration with rural people, the government and other partners. They address poverty through promotion of sustainable natural resource management, particularly water and soil conservation. A seventh project is being designed.

Gender and rural development brief with specific focus on the Pacific Islands.

This paper seeks to draw on both the positive aspects of current practice and the critiques that have been made, to propose an action plan for strengthening IFAD’s engagement in country level policy dialogue.

It outlines a set of broad principles underpinning IFAD’s approach, the first of which is the reaffirmation that policy engagement must be shaped and led by the CPM.

It also makes specific proposals for more effectively integrating country-level policy dialogue in IFAD country programmes; for improving IFAD’s monitoring, reporting and knowledge management on the subject; and for strengthening in-house capacity for country-level policy dialogue.  

Describes what IFAD and the Policy and Technical Advisory division are supporting country-level policy engagement.

It also summarizes past experience and explains how Country Programme Managers can access funds to engage in country-level policy dialogue.

An IFAD Supervision Mission visited the project from 20th June to 5th July 2013. The main 1.objectives of the supervision mission are to ensure that the development objectives of the projects are being met and to satisfy IFAD‟s fiduciary responsibilities, with a focus on: (i) assessment of the implementation progress of the project, including assessment of the achievement of outputs by component and outcome as per the logframe of the project; (ii) assistance to identify and remove implementation bottlenecks and constraints; and (iii) agree on a set of actions to be implemented by the project in the next six to twelve months period.

Le monde d’aujourd’hui est plein de paradoxes, parfois grotesques – ainsi, 870 millions de personnes souffrent de la faim alors qu’un tiers de l’ensemble de la production alimentaire est perdu ou gaspillé. Nous nous émerveillons devant les taux de croissance des pays à revenu intermédiaire; pourtant, des dizaines de millions de personnes y vivent en situation d’extrême pauvreté. Près de 75% des personnes les plus pauvres du monde vivent en milieu rural et tirent principalement leurs moyens d’existence de l’agriculture, tout en produisant plus de 80% de la nourriture consommée en Afrique subsaharienne et en Asie. Et ils
sont nombreux à être eux-mêmes des acheteurs nets de denrées alimentaires.

Brochure illustrating IFAD's support to coffee value-chain development.

Small-scale producers in the development of tea value chain partnerships 

Brochure illustrating IFAD's support to cocoa value-chain development.

The thesis of this article is that governments of countries that plan their agricultural and rural development programmes on a large scale – typically covering the entire agriculture sector and including all or most of the important ingredients for agricultural growth and rural development – do better in terms of agricultural production and reduction of rural poverty and hunger than do country governments that do not invest broadly and at scale in such development.

Découvrez, dans le Rapport annuel 2012, les résultats et l'impact de l'activité du FIDA. Le document rapporte aussi les histoires de femmes et d'hommes avec qui nous travaillons dans les zones rurales – leurs problèmes et leurs succès. Le Rapport de cette année expose en outre les nouvelles orientations et les nouvelles initiatives du FIDA, qui contribuent à accroître la sécurité alimentaire et à réduire la pauvreté rurale dans l'ensemble du monde en développement. Et il présente les données et les chiffres que le Fonds communique périodiquement à ses États membres et à ses partenaires.

IFAD and UN-Habitat, through the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN), have entered into a partnership to implement the „Land and Natural Resources Learning Initiative for Eastern and Southern Africa (TSLI-ESA)‟. 

The initiative aims to improve knowledge management strategies and approaches towards pro-poor and gender-sensitive land and natural resource tenure rights in selected East and Southern African countries. 

The Jr/Sr twinning project was developed in the context of IFAD‟s Initiative for Mainstreaming Innovation. The project seeks to enhance IFAD's capacity to promote innovations that will have a positive impact on rural poverty: testing new methodologies to respond to old and new challenges with new solutions.  

Que peuvent faire les technologies de l'information et de la communication (TIC) pour les 900 millions de personnes extrêmement pauvres vivant dans les zones rurales? 

Based on the successful experience in 2005 in reviewing the IFAD-funded projects with indigenous peoples by indigenous experts, independent studies were conducted on selected IFAD-funded projects in each region. The studies on IFAD-funded projects with indigenous peoples are aimed to support IFAD in enhancing its development effectiveness in its engagement with indigenous peoples. In general, the case studies:
a) Identified existing policies and institutions, good practices, key success factors and innovations in selected on-going IFAD-funded projects with indigenous peoples with a potential for scaling up and replication;
b) Assessed the implementation of the IFAD Policy on Engagement with Indigenous Peoples in IFAD-funded projects taking into account that the selected project has been approved before the approval of the policy; and,
c) Identified challenges and suggested areas of improvement in strengthening partnership between IFAD and indigenous peoples in order to address poverty and sustainable development with culture and identity.

This document reports on the remarkable achievements of the Financing Facility for Remittances (FFR) in its five years of operation. It provides an overview of the importance of remittances to development, the strategy that the Facility has adopted to date, and the lessons. 

The FFR Brief learned from the innovative projects it has financed. Looking forward, the report highlights the tremendous opportunities offered by large-scale distribution networks, adoption of new technologies, mobilization of migrant capital and partnering with the private sector. Each chapter has been designed to be readable as a stand-alone discussion of the specific topic area it addresses. As a number of projects resulted in lessons learned in multiple areas, projects may be mentioned more than once, and their impact in each topic area will be discussed separately.

Le présent rapport résume une compilation à venir d’études sur les transferts de fonds vers l’Asie et le Pacifique. Ses conclusions reposent sur une série d’études commandées par le Fonds international de développement agricole (FIDA) et réalisées par Developing Markets Associates, le Dialogue interaméricain (IAD), la Banque mondiale et l’Institut mondial des caisses d’épargne ainsi que d’études et d’analyses de la Banque mondiale.

This report summarizes the first global meeting of the Indigenous Peoples’ Forum at IFAD in February 2013. 

The report provides an overview of the main messages conveyed, the key topics discussed, the recommendations put forward by indigenous peoples’ representatives and the regional action plans jointly agreed upon by IFAD and indigenous participants. 

For those interested in learning  more, the report provides links to background documents, case studies, videos, photos, interviews and further reading. 

This brief paper presents the main phase of SFOAP (2013-2015). 

During this period the Programme will help African FOs to evolve into more stable, performing and accountable organizations that effectively represent their members and advise them on farming enterprises. 

Méthodes innovantes d’amélioration sylvo-pastorale: Le cas du projet de lutte participative contre la désertification et de réduction de la pauvreté dans les écosystèmes arides et semi-arides des hauts plateaux de l’Oriental au Maroc.

This paper summarizes the results of the IFAD Institutional Scaling Up Review (Phase 2), which was conducted under a grant from IFAD to the Brookings Institution.

This paper presents the Learning Route, ‘Managing Forests, Sustaining Lives, Improving Livelihoods of Indigenous Peoples and Ethnic Groups in the Mekong Region’, undertaken in November 2012 by PROCASUR and AIPP with the support of IFAD. 

It describes the Learning Route process, outputs and outcomes, as well as lessons learned, in addition to two case studies – one in Lao PDR and the other in Thailand – of community-based forest management, communal land titles and sustainable livelihoods. 

The document also provides a general overview of the land tenure system and its effect on the traditional livelihoods of indigenous peoples and ethnic groups in Asia, with particular focus on Lao PDR and Thailand.  

An analysis of lessons learnt from field application of IFAD’s sourcebook on institutional and organizational analysis for pro-poor change.

La République du Niger a une population multi-ethnique, parmi laquelle, les Touareg, les Peulh et les Toubou s‘auto-identifient comme autochtones.

IFAD’s experience shows that, with the right support, rural communities can transform their existence in a sustainable way. Supporting the development and ownership of a viable private sector in rural areas plays a fundamental part.

We have always supported the rural private sector, providing primarily small- scale operators with financial and technical assistance to help them
improve their livelihoods.

IFAD and the Government of Mauritius are moving towards a new form of partnership that differs from the standard model for low-income countries, which was followed in Mauritius until 2005. 

IFAD recognizes that the country now has sufficient national resources to address rural poverty, so the focus of interventions has shifted from financing projects towards developing a collaborative approach with the government to reduce the incidence of poverty.

This approach includes policy dialogue, knowledge management and sharing, and partnership-building.

IFAD first worked in Seychelles in 1991, when it began financing the Employment Generation Project, which was completed six years later.
More recently, stakeholders from Seychelles have participated in activities funded by an ongoing IFAD grant, which supports the Regional Initiative for Smallholder Agriculture Adaptation to Climate Change in the Indian Ocean Islands. This initiative is creating a regional knowledge-management platform on adaptation strategies for small-scale farmers.

The platform actively disseminates information on conservation agriculture practices such as farming with low or zero tillage, as well as composting, integrating livestock and farming activities, and other environmentally sustainable measures.

Farmers’ Africa is a capacity-building programme that aims to improve the livelihoods and food security of rural producers in Africa. It works with farmers’ organizations (FOs) to help them evolve into more stable, performing and accountable organizations that effectively represent their members and advise them on farming enterprises. 

The programme supports the main functions of FOs, promotes their engagement in policy processes and contributes to their professionalization. It also supports the efforts of FOs to provide economic services to their members. The total cost of the programme is estimated at EUR 40 million over five years and includes an overall contribution of EUR 26.9 million from the European Union (EU). 

El Fondo Internacional de Desarrollo Agrícola (FIDA), ha definido como misión el diseño de herramientas que aporten a la construcción de capacidades para el empoderamiento de la población rural como ruta para mejorar su calidad de vida, a través de procesos de autodesarrollo.

Dentro de la población rural los pueblos indígenas, se identifican en contexto con más desventajas en relación a acceso a servicios básicos y recursos necesarios para salir de la pobreza, sumado a la situación de exclusión histórica y negación de sus derechos a la cual han estado enfrentados.

Como respuesta a esto, se define la Política de Actuación en relación a Pueblos Indígenas, que tienen como fin que los procesos de desarrollo impulsados desde el FIDA tengan mayor efectividad, la cual cuenta con procedimientos, instrumentos y mecanismos para su aplicación.

La Sistematización de Buenas Practicas del Programa Desarrollo Rural Sustentable para la Región del Norte -PRODENORTE- se constituye en un aprendizaje colectivo y de beneficio para la población indígena de los pueblos mayas Q´eqchi´, Pocomchi´, Achi y Ki´che´.

El programa se desarrolla bajo los lineamientos descritos en el Programa Sobre Oportunidades Estratégicas Nacionales del FIDA, COSOP 2008-2013. 

IFAD’s investigative and anticorruption activities aim to ensure that development funds reach intended beneficiaries in the most efficient, effective and transparent manner possible. Fraud and corruption divert resources away from the people who need them most. The goal of the IFAD Policy on Preventing Fraud and Corruption in its Activities and Operations (EB 2005/85/R.5/Rev.1) is the prevention of fraud and corruption within the Fund itself and in activities financed by IFAD at local, national, regional and international levels.

The Office of Audit and Oversight (AUO) and its Investigation Section (IS) have been mandated to investigate alleged irregular practices, namely: (i) fraud and corruption, in relation to entities, contractors and non-staff individuals applying for or participating in an IFAD-financed project or headquarters-related contract; and (ii) staff misconduct. 

The rapid growth in consumer demand for sustainable agricultural products represents an enormous opportunity for small-scale farmers and producers in developing countries.

To help them seize this and other opportunities, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) funds a range of projects in rural areas. A growing number of projects support smallholder production of commodities that are certified under programmes such as Fairtrade, Organic, UTZ Certified and Rainforest Alliance, including:

• Cocoa and coffee in Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, and Sierra Leone

• Fruits in the South Pacific and Madagascar

• Cosmetic and medicinal plants in India and Southern Africa.

This technical note serves as a guide to the design of appropriate programme interventions that apply value chain financing approaches to the development of competitive agricultural value chains. 

It emphasizes interventions that promote financial inclusiveness and the overall development goals of governments, as well as those of technical and funding agencies.

This review examines the impact of water-related projects on women, women’s role in managing water resources and the constraints women face in gaining access to water. It highlights the innovative activities and catalysts that have helped to address gender issues in water programmes and projects. 

The most common type of biogas system, and the most widely adopted in China and India, is a fixed dome system. Its construction requires skilled technical expertise and complex logistics, making installation expensive and time-consuming. Fixed dome systems are permanent installations, so secure land tenure is a prerequisite. These challenges make it difficult to adopt fixed dome systems in developing countries, particularly in Africa. As a result, many systems have failed and adoption rates have been low.

Another type of biogas system, manufactured in Kenya, is Flexi Biogas, a flexible above- ground system that is simpler and less costly to build and operate. This system does not require agitation and the digester is not a sealed tank but simply a 6m x 3m plastic bag made of PVC tarpaulin.
For more information please click on the link below.

Les peuples autochtones, dont la richesse culturelle ne date
pas d’hier, considèrent que leur fonctionnement social,
économique, environnemental et spirituel forme un tout. Ils
apportent une contribution précieuse au patrimoine
mondial grâce aux savoirs traditionnels qu’ils détiennent
et à leur compréhension de la gestion des écosystèmes. Mais
les peuples autochtones sont aussi parmi les groupes de
population les plus vulnérables, les plus marginalisés et les
plus désavantagés au monde.
Nous devons faire en sorte que leur voix soit entendue,
que leurs droits soient respectés et que leurs
conditions de vie s’améliorent.

Un des enjeux majeurs auquel l’humanité sera confrontée au cours de ce nouveau millénaire, est sans conteste la gestion durable des ressources en eau face aux demandes pressantes d’une population sans cesse croissante. 

Over 50 experts from more than 20 countries convened in Salzburg, Austria, in November 2011 for a special Dialogue for Action meeting entitled Transforming Agricultural Development and Production in Africa: Closing Gender Gaps and Empowering Rural Women in Policy and Practice. Designed to accelerate rural and agricultural development in Africa, the meeting focused on investment in women.

It was organized by the Salzburg Global Seminar (SGS) with support from the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)/Belgian Fund for Food Security (BFFS) Joint Programme. This report aims to reflect the complexity of the discussions that took place during the event and the outcome of those discussions.

In parts of Kenya, local communities have been empowered to take control of their own development. The success of the project rests on community involvement
and mobilization of local financial, natural and human resources.

This document is intended to aid delivery channels, microfinance providers in particular, in working with insurance companies to develop successful microinsurance products for the low-income market. 

A systematic new-product development process is crucial to the success of microinsurance products for many reasons, including: Saving money – by maximizing the potential for product success; Saving management and staff time – by ensuring, within reason, that the product has market demand, and by working out staff and systems issues early in the process, when it is easier and cheaper to make changes; Generating goodwill in one’s market – by offering products that will not have to be withdrawn or substantially altered once they are offered throughout the market. The process outlined in this manual will help microinsurance developers create successful microinsurance products. ‘Success’ means meeting the needs of the three major parties in the microinsurance relationship: low-income policyholders, the insurer and delivery channels.

This manual is intended as an aid to microinsurance institutions. It presents a technique called ‘process mapping’ that can support institutions in self-analysis by assisting them in understanding, developing and improving business processes. Although the concepts presented may be used for many types of projects and processes, this manual was specifically developed as a supplement to Microinsurance product development for microfinance providers (McCord 2012).

The manual describes how a process map can be drawn, analysed and adapted for the microinsurance sector. It offers practical guidance about which processes to concentrate on, and guides the reader through the task of improving these processes, first on paper and then in practice. For more information please click on the link below.

Le développement peut favoriser la paix, car les deux vont de pair. Si par nos programmes nous aidons les populations à vaincre les obstacles qui freinent leur propre développement, nous leur donnons du même coup les moyens de se battre contre la pauvreté et la faim et non pas entre eux. Nous les détournons de la tentation de riposter par la violence et la destruction à des situations certes intolérables. Personne ne devrait aller se coucher le soir le ventre vide. Personne ne devrait voir le potentiel d’un enfant s’étioler sous l’effet de la malnutrition, de l’analphabétisme et de la désespérance. Aucune
femme ne devrait être privée d’accès aux ressources au simple prétexte qu’elle n’est pas un homme. Aucun être humain ne devrait être interdit de parole simplement parce que son silence arrange un tel ou un tel.

The paper highlights the issues arising from the Global Gathering of Women Pastoralists (2010) which brought together over 100 women from herding communities across 32 different countries to discuss the challenges faced by pastoralist women and girls, and their potential opportunities.

It aims to support development practitioners in planning specific interventions and mainstreaming issues that potentially affect pastoralist women into the implementation stages of development initiatives. 

The paper is part of the IFAD Livestock Thematic Papers on Livestock and Pastoralists and Gender and Livestock, which offer an in-depth view of the broader context.

This Thematic Paper is part of a toolkit for development practitioners, created to support the design of appropriate livestock development interventions. It has been developed to assess existing synergies between livestock and the renewable energy sector and consider the potential benefits that could arise from their interactions, such as mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, environmental preservation (soil restoration), and availability of clean, affordable and reliable energy sources (e.g. biogas). 

The paper is divided into two sections. The first part looks at the livestock’s potential as a renewable energy source. Through, for example, the use of cost-effective technologies such as biogas systems that can stem methane emissions from livestock manure by recovering the gas and using it as an energy source in alternative to wood/charcoal or fossil fuel. 

The second part, given the climate change scenario, considers viable applications of Renewable Energy Technologies (RETs) addressed for small-scale farmers and livestock keepers at different levels of the value chain that can provide multifunctional benefits for households, community and environment. 

This technical note aims to help project designers and reviewers of the design process to decide whether matching grants are the most appropriate financing instrument in a given context and what to consider when designing a matching grant component. The note focuses on use of these grants to finance productive assets and investments for business purposes. For more information please click on the lonk below.

What does gender equality look like? Gender equality exists where women and men have equal access to opportunities and services, equal control over resources, and an equal say in decisions at all levels. 

Evidence demonstrates that where gender equality is greater, there is higher economic growth and a better quality of life for all.

Strong links to markets for poor rural producers are essential to increasing agricultural production, generating economic growth in rural areas and reducing hunger and poverty. Improving these links creates a virtuous circle by boosting productivity, increasing incomes and strengthening food security.

Agriculture is a thirsty business, with irrigation alone accounting for about 70 per cent of freshwater withdrawals. 

Meeting demand from a world population expected to top 9 billion people by 2050 will require a 10 per cent increase in water for agricultural use. 

Enormous efforts will be needed to reduce water demand and improve water use efficiency.

Ce manuel est un complément au “Manuel de suivi et d’entretien des petits barrages en Mauritanie” publié dans la même série.

In IFAD's 2011 Annual Report you can read the stories of determined women and men who have changed their lives and their communities with their own energy and initiative, plus support from some innovative rural development projects. This year's report also spotlights IFAD's work to help rural people adapt to the risks and ravages of climate change. The Annual Report tells IFAD's story for 2011, providing the facts and figures that the organization regularly shares with its Member States and partners around the world.

El presente estudio se basa en el análisis sobre la incorporación de los principios de actuación por los que ha de guiarse el Fondo Internacional de Desarrollo Agrícola (FIDA), en su labor con Pueblos Indígenas y Afrodescendientes. El Programa de Desarrollo Rural en la Costa Caribe de Nicaragua, NICARIBE, fue el proyecto de referencia para el análisis. 

NICARIBE es un programa que se implementa en siete territorios de Pueblos Indígenas y Afrodescendientes de la Costa Caribe, y tiene como meta mejorar los niveles de ingreso de 10,580 familias que viven en estos territorios, enfocando en el apoyo en el incremento de la producción, el manejo y aprovechamiento sostenible de los recursos naturales y fortalecimiento de sus organizaciones (territoriales y comunales) locales.

IFAD and UN-Habitat, through the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN), have entered into a partnership to implement the ‘Land and Natural Resources Learning Initiative for Eastern and Southern Africa (TSLI-ESA)’.

The initiative aims to improve knowledge management strategies and approaches towards pro-poor and gender-sensitive land and natural resource tenure rights in selected East and Southern African countries.

IFAD and UN-Habitat, through the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN), have entered into a partnership to implement the „Land and Natural Resources Learning Initiative for Eastern and Southern Africa (TSLI-ESA)‟. 

The initiative aims to improve knowledge management strategies and approaches towards pro-poor and gender-sensitive land and natural resource tenure rights in selected East and Southern African countries.

Rural people generally need both secure individual rights to farm plots and secure collective rights to common pool resources on which whole villages depend. 

IFAD-supported projects and programmes have supported the recognition and documenting of group rights, focusing on range/grazing lands, forests and artisanal fishing communities. 

IFAD and UN-Habitat, through the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN), have entered into a partnership to implement the ‘Land and Natural Resources Learning Initiative for Eastern and Southern Africa (TSLI-ESA)’. 

The initiative aims to improve knowledge management strategies and approaches towards pro-poor and gender-sensitive land and natural resource tenure rights in selected East and Southern African countries

IFAD and UN-Habitat, through the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN), have entered into a partnership to implement the „Land and Natural Resources Learning Initiative for Eastern and Southern Africa (TSLI-ESA)‟. 

The initiative aims to improve knowledge management strategies and approaches towards pro-poor and gender-sensitive land and natural resource tenure rights in selected East and Southern African countries. 

This factsheet presents the main outcomes of the Scampis project that aimed to improve the food security of 30,000 vulnerable smallholders in three countries through the use of micro-irrigation systems (MIS) and natural fertilizers and pesticides.

This report provides an overview of the achievements and learning from the Phase 1 of the Tenure Security Learning Initiative - East & Southern Africa (TSLI-ESA) Project. 

It also looks ahead to strategies for scaling up initiatives, and to the second phase of the TSLI-ESA project.

The United Republic of Tanzania (URT) has a multi-ethnic population with more than 125 different ethnic communities. Four of these—the Hadzabe, the Akie, the Maasai and the Barabaig—identify themselves as indigenous peoples. 

Participatory mapping uses a range of tools including data collection tools, such as mental mapping, ground mapping, participatory sketch mapping, transect mapping and participatory 3-dimensional modelling. 

Recently participatory mapping initiatives have begun to use more technically advanced geographic information technologies, including Global Positioning Systems (GPS), aerial photos and use of remote-sensing images, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and other digital computer-based technologies. 

IFAD supported projects and programmes are increasingly making use of these technologies for mapping land and natural resource rights, use and management.

Este es un documento sobre las Buenas Prácticas del proyecto de Desarrollo Corredor Central (PDCC) implementado en Ecuador y financiado por el Gobierno Nacional y por el Préstamo 650/EC proveniente del Fondo Internacional de Desarrollo Agrícola (FIDA), a través de la ejecución de sub-Proyectos de Turismo Comunitario con Pueblos y Nacionalidades Indígenas.

Los tres segmentos geográficos que conforman el corredor central, desde la región de la costa a la región amazónica: (i) Portoviejo y La Maná; (ii) Pujilí y Pelileo; (iii) Baños y Puyo.

IFAD has supported rural poverty reduction and agricultural development initiatives in the Republic of Guatemala since 1986. During its first decade in the country, IFAD’s work was oriented towards supporting the government in consolidating the peace process and rebuilding the social fabric in zones that were affected by Guatemala’s 36-year armed conflict. 

It also focused on constructing an economic and institutional platform for the development of marginalized rural and indigenous communities.
Over the years, IFAD operations have evolved from localized rural development.

En los últimos treinta años, el FIDA así como sucesivos gobiernos peruanos han desarrollado programas en la sierra, donde los niveles de pobreza son severos. Esto se construye sobre modelos de desarrollo comunal, lecciones aprendidas sistemáticamente y ampliando tanto las áreas cubiertas como el alcance de las intervenciones. Los proyectos FEAS, MARENASS, CORREDOR y SIERRA alcanzaron 120,000 hogares en más de 1,600 comunidades pobres en la sierra sur. Estos proyectos han sacado de la pobreza extrema al 30 por ciento de los hogares objetivos, y 35 por ciento salieron completamente de la pobreza. Estos proyectos secuenciales representan el sendero de un proceso de escalonamiento complejo, pero exitoso.

Au cours des cinq dernières
années, le monde a été touché par
une série de crises économiques,
financières et alimentaires qui ont
ralenti, et parfois contrarié, les
efforts mondiaux pour réduire la
pauvreté et la faim. Aujourd’hui, la
volatilité des prix et les chocs
climatiques – telle la sécheresse
dévastatrice qui a récemment
frappé la Corne de l’Afrique –
continuent à compromettre
gravement ces efforts. Dans ce
contexte, promouvoir l’adaptation
des moyens de subsistance ainsi
que la sécurité alimentaire et
nutritionnelle est devenu la priorité
des programmes gouvernementaux.
Pour être opérants, ces
programmes doivent placer les
petits exploitants agricoles au centre
de l’action et leur faire jouer un rôle
de premier plan dans les efforts
d’investissement requis.

The Republic of Kenya has a multi-ethnic population, among which more than 25 communities identify as indigenous.

Il est de plus en plus admis que le changement climatique est en train de transformer le contexte dans lequel s’inscrit le développement rural; il remodèle les paysages physiques et socio-économiques et rend plus coûteux le développement de la petite agriculture. Mais il n’existe guère de consensus quant à la manière dont les pratiques de l’agriculture paysanne devraient s’adapter. Une question est souvent posée: en quoi l’agriculture “intelligente face au climat” pratiquée par les petits exploitants est-elle vraiment différente et va au-delà des meilleures pratiques habituelles du développement? 

À ce jour, le FIDA a financé neuf programmes et projets au Burundi pour un montant total de 141 millions de dollars. Cette expérience dans le pays confirme que, même dans l’adversité, des programmes et projets conçus sur la base de consultations adéquates avec les communautés rurales peuvent améliorer la sécurité alimentaire des ménages.

Pendant les onze années qu’a duré le conflit armé dans le pays, le FIDA n’a jamais interrompu ses programmes et activités. En accomplissant son mandat en faveur du développement rural et agricole, l’organisation a permis de maintenir la cohésion sociale des communautés rurales qui ont été, directement ou indirectement, victimes de massacres et de combats. En restant dans le pays, malgré l’insécurité et les contraintes de l’embargo international à l’encontre du Burundi, le FIDA a également favorisé le maintien d’un sentiment de normalité parmi la population.

Ce document est un document de travail préparé pour la session jeunesse du Forum Paysan 2012. Il propose un résumé des conclusions du projet conjoint MIJARC/FIDA/FAO intitulé « Faciliter l’accès des jeunes ruraux aux activités agricoles ».

Ces conclusions seront complétées et insérées dans un rapport final qui sera publié après le Forum Paysan. 

La croissance démographique, l’urbanisation et l’augmentation des revenus continueront à exercer une pression sur la demande alimentaire. Les prix mondiaux de la plupart des denrées de base agricoles devraient se maintenir à leur niveau de 2010, voire augmenter, tout au moins au cours de la prochaine décennie (OCDE-FAO, 2010). Les petits producteurs de nombreux pays en développement n’ont pas pu tirer parti de la hausse des prix lors de la crise causée par l’envolée des prix en 2007-2008. Pourtant, la flambée des prix aurait pu être pour eux l’occasion d’accroître leurs revenus en contribuant à améliorer la sécurité alimentaire. Mais cette opportunité d’utiliser la hausse des prix des produits alimentaires comme levier pour se libérer de la pauvreté ne s’est pas concrétisée pour les petits producteurs. 

The Syrian Arab Republic, like other countries of the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia, is a dry country that is prone to drought, with large areas of desert or semi-desert that are too fragile to be cultivated but will support grazing for a restricted number of livestock. These areas of ecological fragility, if overgrazed and poorly managed, can quickly become degraded and desertified and, in the worst case scenario, can eventually become biologically sterile. Good management of these resources is therefore critical to maintaining healthy ecosystems and the livelihoods that depend on them.

The DRC is a multi-ethnic country with some 250 ethnic groups, including several indigenous Pygmy groups.

In its efforts to help poor rural people overcome poverty, IFAD aims to ensure that development funds reach them in the most efficient, effective and transparent manner possible. Fraud and corruption divert resources away from the people who need them most. The goal of IFAD’s Policy on Preventing Fraud and Corruption in its Activities and Operations (EB 2005/85/R.5/Rev.1 - “the anticorruption policy”), is the prevention of fraud and corruption within the Fund itself and in activities financed by IFAD at local, national, regional and international levels.

IFAD is currently one of the two largest donors supporting Yemen’s rural agricultural sector. IFAD has worked in Yemen since the Fund’s creation, and has acquired a wealth of experience and knowledge of the economy and society, and developed a wide network of partners in the country. IFAD’s goal in Yemen is to achieve improved, diversified and sustainable livelihoods for poor rural women, men and young people, especially those who depend on rainfed agriculture and livestock production systems in the poorest areas. 

IFAD has three main strategic objectives in Yemen:
• empowering rural communities by strengthening partnerships with civil society organizations and using community-driven approaches so that poor rural people can manage local community development activities;
• promoting sustainable rural financial services and pro-poor rural enterprises by developing savings and credit associations for disadvantaged groups in remote rural areas and developing rural enterprises that provide jobs for the unemployed, especially young people and women;
• enhancing food security for poor households by restoring the productive agricultural base and improving productivity so that poor households can produce enough for household needs and a surplus that can be sold.

IFAD loans and grants have supported the government’s investments in poverty reduction programmes since 1979. Before 1998, when Hurricane Mitch devastated the country,IFAD was almost the only institution investing in rural development and poverty alleviation in Honduras.

IFAD also designed one of the first projects to be implemented after the disastrous hurricane: the National Fund for Sustainable Rural Development Project (FONADERS).

In June 2006, the World Bank and IFAD agreed to transfer the World Bank’s Grants Facility for Indigenous Peoples to IFAD. In September, the transfer was approved by IFAD’s Executive Board. This marked the beginning of the IFAD Indigenous Peoples Assistance Facility (IPAF), which issues public calls for proposals and makes small grants to support indigenous and tribal peoples throughout the world.  Development projects financed through IPAF aim to improve indigenous peoples’ access to key decision-making processes, empower indigenous peoples to find solutions to the challenges they face, and respond to indigenous peoples’ holistic perspectives. The projects build on indigenous culture, identity, knowledge, natural resources, intellectual property and human rights.

This report, prepared by an independent consultant, provides an overview of the performance of 53 small IPAF-funded projects in delivering results and improving the lives of their target groups. About 45,000 people directly benefited from these projects, and more than half of them were women. Project services reached about 1,200 communities. Primary project activities were training and individual capacity-building in such topics as security of tenure, natural resource management, agricultural technologies, traditional medicine, indigenous peoples’ rights, community programming, literacy and HIV/AIDS prevention.

Poor rural people in developing countries are vulnerable to a range of risks and constraints that impede their socio-economic development. Weather risk, in particular, is pervasive in agriculture. 

G20 leaders, meeting at their Seoul Summit in November 2010, requested FAO, IFAD, IMF, OECD, UNCTAD, WFP, the World Bank and the WTO to work with key stakeholders “to develop options for G20 consideration on how to better mitigate and manage the risks associated with the price volatility of food and other agriculture commodities, without distorting market behaviour, ultimately to protect the most vulnerable.” This mandate was part of a comprehensive Multi-Year Action Plan for Development, of which food security was one theme among several including infrastructure, human resource development, trade, private investment and job creation, and growth with resilience.

Climate variability and change are expected to compromise agricultural production and food security severely in many African countries. 

Trail Blazers: Stories of Women Champions from IFAD Projects presents snapshots of the lives and achievements of simple rural women from the project areas whose immense courage and dynamic leadership helped improve their own lives as well as the lives of their families and communities. 

This report is the fruit of that endeavour and builds on efforts by IWMI, IFAD and many others to document and understand the impacts of PIM. 

Through the systematic review of 24 IFAD-funded PIM interventions and field observations from 5 project sites in the Asian region this study sheds new light on what works, where and why. 

Our study examines WUAs that have been created by IFAD projects and those which pre-date it’s interventions but are the main focus of capacity building or restructuring. 

Près de 30% des pauvres de la planète vivent dans des États
fragiles. Bien qu’il existe plusieurs mesures de la fragilité,
la plupart des pays classés dans cette catégorie ne
disposent pas de certains des outils essentiels au renforcement
des capacités nationales: la bonne gouvernance, des
politiques solides, du personnel qualifié, des infrastructures et
des services fonctionnels, des citoyens instruits, une société
civile active et un secteur privé compétitif. Les troubles civils et
les conflits frontaliers sont trop souvent la réalité. Les pauvres
qui vivent dans les zones rurales des États fragiles sont
particulièrement vulnérables, car ils ne sont guère en mesure
de s’adapter à la situation engendrée par la fragilité.

À présent, le défi que le pays doit relever est de créer les conditions de la croissance économique – et le Gouvernement du Togo pense que la meilleure manière de parvenir à une croissance durable est d’augmenter la production et d'améliorer la productivité du secteur agricole.

Pour ces raisons, après être resté à l’écart du pays pendant plus de dix ans, le Fonds international de développement agricole (FIDA) collabore étroitement avec la République du Togo afin de mettre en bonne voie le développement agricole et rural.

There is a growing need to investigate different crop production systems that prevent soil degradation while increasing productivity. Conservation agriculture (CA) offers a promising solution. Conservation agriculture is a climate resilient technology and management system that has demonstrable potential to secure sustained productivity and livelihood improvements for millions of climate-dependent farmers working in semi-arid areas around the world. Success stories are recorded for some countries in Asia, and in Australia and Brazil. However, for sub-Saharan Africa adoption of the technology has lagged behind these other countries, and concerns have been raised as to the suitability of the technology within the smallholder farming context.

Déjà vulnérable, le Sahel est très exposé aux impacts des changements climatiques, sa population étant fortement dépendante de l’agriculture pluviale et de l’élevage. La variabilité des précipitations, la dégradation des sols et la désertification sont quelques-uns des facteurs clés qui influent négativement sur les moyens de subsistance des populations locales. Des sécheresses, avec des degrés variables de gravité, se produisent deux années sur cinq, ce qui rend les récoltes des cultures vivrières et de rente très aléatoires. Les sécheresses récurrentes des années 1970 et 1980 ont provoqué des pertes énormes de produits agricoles et d’animaux, des pertes en vies humaines causées par la famine et la malnutrition, des déplacements massifs de population, et ont eu des impacts économiques graves. De plus, la plupart des modèles climatiques prévoient que le Sahel sera encore plus sec au cours de ce siècle.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the central issues around land tenure and management in Argentina, in light of the global changes in agriculture and rural
territorial development. In addition, a series of policy options are put forward to address the most conflictridden  situations, keeping in mind the goals of equity
and development.

L’accès qu’ont les agriculteurs aux ressources hydriques est déterminé par de nombreux facteurs. Le cadre politique national et les stratégies adoptées par le gouvernement ont, entre autres, un impact important sur l’accès à l’eau, et sur les projets et programmes qui travaillent dans ce domaine. Au fur et à mesure qu’évolue le contexte politique, il est donc nécessaire de revoir la mise en oeuvre de ces projets, en particulier ceux qui ont trait à la construction d’ouvrages hydrauliques, afin de s’assurer que l’environnement politique et stratégique reste adapté aux besoins locaux et permette la mise en place d’une gestion locale, durable et efficace de l’eau agricole.

Découvrez, dans notre Rapport annuel 2010, les actions entreprises par le FIDA pour promouvoir la transformation du monde rural. Le document montre aussi comment nos investissements autonomisent les ruraux, femmes et hommes, et présente les données et les chiffres que nous communiquons à nos États membres et nos partenaires. Vous pourrez également en apprendre davantage sur les activités de plaidoyer que nous menons au nom des communautés rurales à travers le monde.

The objective of this report is to identify, characterize, and evaluate best practices in smallholder private irrigation in West Africa. The report presents a comparative assessment of the smallholder private irrigation initiatives in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria. 

Issues discussed include: the potential and impacts of new technologies; the successes and challenges of different approaches to develop smallholder private irrigation (promotion of technologies, institutional arrangements, advisory and financial services, and environmental impact mitigation); and the lessons learned.

Food price trends have a major impact on food security,
at both household and country levels. Many of the world’s
poorest people spend more than half their income on food.
Price hikes for cereals and other staples can force them
to cut back on the quantity or quality of their food.
This may result in food insecurity and malnutrition,
with tragic implications in both the short and long term.
Undernourishment increases disease and mortality, lowers
productivity and can have severe lifelong effects, particularly
for children. Price spikes can also limit the ability of poor
households to meet important non-food expenses, such
as education and health care. When they occur globally,
price hikes can affect low-income, food importing
countries, putting pressure on their limited financial
resources. Higher food prices have a particularly negative
impact on food security when prices spike suddenly or
reach extremely high levels.

Les petits agriculteurs sont l’épine dorsale de l’économie rurale, mais
ce sont eux qui sont le plus durement touchés par les effets du
changement climatique. Au niveau mondial, 500 millions de petites
exploitations subviennent aux besoins de quelque 2 milliards de
personnes. Ces agriculteurs vivent dans les zones qui sont le plus à
risque – versants collinaires, déserts et plaines inondées. Le changement
climatique multiplie les menaces auxquelles ils doivent faire face,
mettant en danger les actifs naturels dont ils dépendent et accélérant la
dégradation environnementale.

L’évolution des prix des produits alimentaires a une forte
incidence sur la sécurité alimentaire, tant au niveau des
ménages que des pays. Nombre des habitants les plus
pauvres de la planète consacrent plus de la moitié de leurs
revenus à la nourriture. Ils sont parfois contraints de réduire
la quantité ou la qualité de leurs vivres du fait de la hausse
des prix des céréales ou d’autres aliments de base.
L’insécurité alimentaire et la malnutrition qui peuvent
s’ensuivre ont des répercussions dramatiques à court et à
long termes. La sous-alimentation entraîne une
augmentation des taux de morbidité et de mortalité, réduit
la productivité et peut avoir de graves conséquences tout au
long de la vie, en particulier pour les enfants. La flambée des
prix peut aussi limiter la capacité des ménages pauvres à
couvrir des dépenses non alimentaires importantes, comme
l’éducation et les soins de santé. Lorsque ces hausses se
produisent à l’échelle mondiale, elles peuvent nuire aux pays
à faible revenu importateurs de produits alimentaires, en
pesant lourdement sur leurs ressources financières limitées.
Lorsque les prix grimpent brusquement ou atteignent des
niveaux extrêmement élevés, le renchérissement des denrées
alimentaires a un effet particulièrement préjudiciable sur la
sécurité alimentaire.

Plus de 35 ans sont passés depuis la première conférence mondiale de la femme des Nations Unies au Mexique en 1975, et de nombreuses autres conférences et événements se sont succédés, avec comme résultats des engagements politiques, des documents d’action et des
recommandations. 

Malgré cela, nous sommes loin de pouvoir affirmer que l’objectif d’égalité entre les sexes ait été atteint. En ce qui concerne les pays en voie du développement, le Sommet mondial du développement social, en 1995 a été déterminant. C’est alors que le monde a pris conscience de la nécessité d’établir des indicateurs pour pouvoir analyser la situation des femmes dans le monde à diverses échelles.

Le Mécanisme de financement pour l’envoi de fonds (MFEF) cherche à étendre la portée des services financiers aux zones rurales mal desservies du monde entier. Pour la plupart des types d’institutions financières, il est extrêmement coûteux de maintenir un
réseau d’agences spécialisées traditionnelles dans de vastes zones peu peuplées, à une importante exception près: les bureaux de poste.

The case study in Sudan, undertaken in the framework of the Initiative for Mainstreaming Innovation (IMI), analyzed training and skills development activities in the IFAD-supported Gash Sustainable Livelihoods Regeneration Project (GSLRP).

The study is an assessment of the type of capacity building and training that can be implemented in an area of great poverty using innovative approaches in community development and training. It illustrates the kind of impact that is possible at individual and community level.

IFAD commissioned this Rwanda case study, through an IMI initiative, to document the diversity of approaches of training and skills development, particularly to assess relevance, effectiveness and efficiency, outcomes and challenges with respect to the following key components:
(i) Targeting and transition to employment or business creation; (ii) Types of training and providers; (iii) Transfer of knowledge and sustainability. The objective of this study is to present the experience of IFAD in technical vocational and skills development in the context of Rwanda and by doing so, highlight the innovative features and lessons learnt for further replication.

This study was commissioned as part of IFAD’s Initiative for Mainstreaming Innovation (IMI) with the objective of learning lessons from IFAD experience in Bangladesh regarding training and capacity building, and so to improve the effectiveness of training for social development, capacity building, technology dissemination and innovation.

IFAD’s efforts to promote the innovations launched by its programmes are illustrated here with an analysis of activities to strengthen non-agricultural rural apprenticeships under the Support Programme for Rural Microenterprise Poles and Regional Economies (PROSPERER) and the future Vocational Training and Agricultural Productivity Improvement Programme (FORMAPROD)1 in Madagascar.

This paper reports on the major findings of a study on innovations in training and capacity building developed within the Rural Opportunities Programme of Colombia’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Brochure highlighting explaining the content and functions of the RemittancesGateway.org portal - a one-stop shop providing the latest news, information, documents and statistical data from a broad range of institutions and stakeholders on the subject of remittance flows. 

L’un des plus importants
partenariats du FIDA est celui qu’il a
noué avec les États membres de
l’Organisation des pays exportateurs de
pétrole (OPEP) et de l’Organisation de
Coopération Islamique (OCI)1. Ces
pays, qui sont répartis sur trois régions
géographiques, le Proche-Orient et
l’Afrique du Nord, l’Afrique
subsaharienne et l’Asie, sont des
partenaires actifs et de fermes partisans
du FIDA, à la fois comme contributeurs
et comme bénéficiaires du financement
de projets de développement. Le FIDA
travaille aussi en partenariat étroit avec
de nombreuses institutions et fonds de
développement arabes et islamiques
pour le financement, la conception,
l’exécution et le suivi de ses projets de
développement rural.
Le partenariat à long terme établi
entre le FIDA et les États membres et
institutions de l’OCI est devenu, ces
dernières années, plus important que
jamais. Les problèmes sont aujourd’hui
plus graves qu’ils ne l’étaient il y a trois
décennies, lors de la création du FIDA.
Mais les possibilités de produire un
impact encore plus grand sur la vie des
populations rurales pauvres sont tout à
fait à notre portée.

Lorsqu’elles sont
économiquement et socialement
autonomes, les femmes
deviennent de puissants
vecteurs de changement. Dans
les zones rurales de nombreux
pays en développement, elles
contribuent largement à faire
vivre les ménages et occupent
une place centrale dans
l’activité agricole. Mais leur
statut subalterne par rapport
aux hommes les empêche
souvent de réaliser pleinement
leur potentiel.

El programa de encadenamientos empresariales de AGEXPORT tiene como objectivo principal la generación de empleo e ingresos en comunidades en condiciones  de pobreza de Guatemala por medio de la creación de negocios exitosos basados en la asistencia técnica especializada, inteligencia de mercados, promoción comercial, capacitación e inovación tecnológica, una visión de manejo sostenible de los recursos naturales.

Sur les terres jadis arides du désert égyptien, Ahmad Abdelmunem Al-Far explique, avec d’autres agriculteurs, comment une agriculture axée sur le marché peut transformer la vie et libérer les gens de la pauvreté.

Les jeunes d’aujourd’hui – dont la génération est définie par l’ONU comme étant celle des 15 à 24 ans – a atteint un nombre sans précédent dans l’histoire. Dans l’ensemble du monde en développement, les jeunes représentent en moyenne 20% de la population. Les jeunes sont dynamiques et obstinés. Lorsque les conditions sont réunies, une génération substantielle de jeunes constitue pour un pays une ressource inestimable sur le plan du développement économique et du progrès social. Toutefois, dans le contexte actuel et pour des raisons diverses, de nombreux pays développés et en développement éprouvent des difficultés à assurer l’avenir de leur jeunesse, tant dans les villes que dans les campagnes.

The global population is projected to rise from its present level of 6.9 billion to 9.2 billion by 2050. An estimated 1 billion people already are going hungry, and young rural people are increasingly disillusioned about working in the agricultural sector, which in many countries is stagnant and unproductive. So the question must be asked: Who is going to feed this growing world population?

Nearly 1.4 billion people live on less than US$1.25 a day. Seventy per cent live in rural areas where they depend on agriculture, but where they are also at risk from recurrent natural disasters such as drought and flooding. Natural disasters have a devastating impact on the food security and overall social and economic development of poor rural households. 

According to data from Munich Re’s NatCatSERVICE, natural disasters account for losses, on average, of US$51 billion in developing countries every year. Unless well managed, weather risks in agriculture slow development and hinder poverty reduction, ultimately resulting in humanitarian crises. Poor farmers have few options for coping with significant losses, and in order to reduce their exposure to risk, they often forgo opportunities to increase their productivity. 

 

Pursuant to the adoption by the Executive Board in December 2005 of the IFAD Policy on Preventing Fraud and Corruption in its Activities and Operations (EB 2005/85/R.5/Rev.1, paragraph 26) (the anticorruption policy), the Investigation Section of the Office of Audit and Oversight (AUO/IS) has a mandate to investigate alleged irregular practices, namely: (i) fraud and corruption, in relation to entities, contractors and non-staff individuals applying for or participating in an IFAD-financed project or headquarters-related contract; and (ii) staff misconduct. Implementation of this policy and the subsequent establishment of a Sanctions Committee have aligned IFAD with best practices applied by other United Nations agencies and the major multilateral development banks in this area.

In 2010 there were some indicators that the proactive anticorruption awarenessraising activities undertaken by AUO/IS in past years were bearing fruit. An increase in complaints received by AUO/IS in 2010, discussed in more detail below, could reasonably be attributed, at least in part, to training and anticorruption presentations given by staff of the Investigation Section. AUO/IS also noted the excellent response in 2010 from Programme Management Department (PMD) staff with regard to reporting allegations and in terms of cooperation afforded to the Section.

Les jeunes, femmes et hommes, qui vivent en milieu rural sont les agriculteurs, entrepreneurs et dirigeants du monde de demain. C’est à eux qu’il incombera de relever des défis s’agissant de satisfaire la demande alimentaire, développer des centres ruraux dynamiques et promouvoir une croissance économique diversifiée dans les pays en développement. Il est donc impératif de placer les jeunes ruraux1 et la petite agriculture au premier plan des stratégies mondiales en faveur de la sécurité alimentaire, de la réduction de la pauvreté et de la croissance des revenus.